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Dunkirk Town Board receptive of residents’ concerns

OBSERVER Photos by Braden Carmen Dunkirk resident Jay Warren shared his stance on the short-term rental property issue currently impacting his neighborhood on Woodlands Drive at a recent Town of Dunkirk board meeting.

All throughout New York state, the topic of short-term rental properties has presented a challenge to local governments.

In the town of Dunkirk, while the issue has led to a lot of headaches for residents and Town Board members, the overall relationship between the residents and the town officials has remained positive and respectful.

“I’ve never been to a town board meeting, except for the last two, and I have to say when I walked out of here, it was wonderful. Everybody conducted themselves in a wonderful manner,” said Maureen Stegle, a resident of Dunkirk. “Even though you said we can only talk for three minutes, you let us talk — which I think was a wonderful thing. With everything that is going on, it’s very nice to know that as citizens, we get to have our opinion.”

Just as with last month’s Town of Dunkirk meeting, the time for public comments lasted longer than the rest of the Town Board meeting.

Stegle is circulating a petition throughout her neighborhood on the short-term rental property issue. She believes, “The majority should win. If all these people do not want an Airbnb in their neighborhood, that should be the answer right there. I do believe that.”

Sue Hazelton, a resident of Dunkirk, was the first member of the public to speak at the meeting. She highlighted how the issue has weighed on both the residents and the Town Board. “This situation has disrupted our lives this past year and made unnecessary work and cost for the town,” she said. “I’m sure the town has other responsibilities and other major projects to worry about.”

Hazelton also reiterated her concerns to the board about short-term rental properties and why she is against them.

She highlighted safety concerns, the uncertainty on how to define language to regulate the properties, and her belief that short-term rentals would be responsible for “the changing of our neighborhood forever.”

“I’d like to thank all of you,” Allison Lang, a resident of Dunkirk, told the Town Board before she shared her opinion on the issue. “My opinion is allowing short-term rentals in an R-1 (residential) district is a mistake. … I can definitely understand your frustration in attempting to create regulatory guidelines, but as you’ve seen, there are so many variables. After sitting in the meetings, it seems clear to see it is a difficult thing to regulate, and that the majority of the residents that live in the R-1 district in the town do not want short-term rentals in their neighborhood.”

Jay Warren, a resident of Dunkirk, presented the Town Board and members of the public with a single-sheet summary of what he observed at the latest town workshop to discuss a law to regulate short-term rentals a week before the most recent Town Board meeting. He highlighted the possible options of restricting short-term rentals entirely, allowing them in certain districts, or allowing them in all districts.

“I commend you. I know you have a very difficult job,” Jay Warren said to the Town Board before he made his stance on the matter. “To go in and destroy — or change in a huge way – the character of a neighborhood is just not right. … You can’t just go in and change a neighborhood because somebody puts up a fuss – and we know who’s putting up the fuss.”

Warren and his wife, Barbara Warren, live on Woodlands Drive next to a short-term rental property. Barbara Warren shared the sentiments of many of the members of the public at the opening of her time to speak. “I also want to thank all of you for all the time and all the outside work you have to do to be able to make these decisions – to try to do what is best. I’m very grateful to all of you,” she said.

Barbara Warren then highlighted how petitions have circulated through the town with an overwhelming majority of residents against short-term rentals. She also pointed out that the Zoning Board voted unanimously to not allow short-term rentals in the R-1 district. “It was said that the decision that will be made is what will be in the best interest of the Town of Dunkirk. It’s hard to understand that out-of-town investors operating short-term rentals is in the best interest of the Town of Dunkirk.”

Barbara Warren described how she and her husband have been personally impacted by their neighbor who operates a short-term rental property. “We came to the meetings every month for almost a year and expressed our concerns about what was happening next door. And yes, there were many changes to our peaceful, quiet, and very safe neighborhood.”

To conclude the public speaking portion of the meeting, Barbara Warren stated, “I would not want what happened to us to happen to one other person in the neighborhood of the Town of Dunkirk.”

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